Personal stories are to be highlighted at the new Mary Rose Museum, due to open in Autumn 2012, as the collection is reunited with the ship for the first time since her raising in 1982.
Speaking in a video update on the progress of the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard development, Head of Interpretation at the Mary Rose Trust, Christopher Dobbs, revealed a mock-up display cabinet for the carpenter, complete with personal possessions.
As previously described by Nick Butterley in an earlier update (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuubZnpnQMk) the first area, on the ground floor, will be one of six galleries showing items by type and themes. The Context Gallery, on the two upper levels, will then position exhibits opposite the areas of the ship where they would originally have been found.
Christopher describes how there are many stories locked up in the collection, which the new museum will be able to tell more effectively, and the mock-up display is a vitally important part of the preparation process.
The planning initially starts with the objects in the collection and then the stories emerge…
They are looking at how the stories then relate to other parts of the collection before designing the displays and looking at the best form of lighting to make the objects shine to their best.
“I’m very lucky that the carpenter’s cabin was actually the section of the ship that I was in charge of excavating,” said Christopher.
“But now I think the challenge and exciting thing is making all those stories, all these objects available to the public in a new and exciting way.”
You can watch the full interview here:
